VA - Blue Note Perfect Takes (2004) 320 kbps

Tracklist

01. Four In One - Thelonious Monk
02. Budo - Miles Davis
03. Remember - Hank Mobley
04. Arietis - Freddie Hubbard
05. Midnight Blue - Kenny Burrell
06. Mode For Joe - Joe Henderson
07. Christo Redentor - Donald Byrd
08. Footprints - Wayne Shorter
09. Moon River - Arty Blaker
10. See See Rider - Jimmy Smith

This is basically a curiosity piece for harder than hardcore jazz fans. These ten tracks were chosen by Rudy Van Gelder, Blue Note's celebrated and indeed legendary engineer, from the label's collection of RVG editions. Some of these cuts, such as Thelonious Monk's "Four in One" and Miles Davis' "Budo" from the Birth of the Cool sessions, were not originally engineered by Van Gelder -- however, he did reengineer them for CD reissue. On these selections he worked from the original lacquer discs, giving him the ability to reproduce sound far more faithfully than any previous CD or LP issue. This means that these versions are supposedly better mastered than even the RVG series. Other cuts he chose were Hank Mobley's "Remember," Freddie Hubbard's "Arietis," Wayne Shorter's "Footprints," Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue," Jimmy Smith's "See See Rider," Donald Byrd's "Christo Redentor," Art Blakey's killer read of "Moon River" from 1961, and Joe Henderson's mighty "Mode for Joe." Given the highly idiosyncratic picks of Van Gelder, this collection will have many jazzheads debating and musing over the contents. But it is likely only to be of interest to those who either need everything or have simply got to have the best in audio reproduction. In addition to the music, Blue Note has also included a bonus DVD that contains an interview with Van Gelder by Michael Cuscuna about the many artists he has worked with, personal reminiscences, and his own view of his legacy.~Thom Jurek